Feed mechanism



H. S. EPSTEIN FEED MECHANISM Filed Sept. 11 1950 3 Sheets-$heet l INVENTOR. HERBERT 5., Epsrem,

Oct. 9, 1956 H. s. EPSTEIN FEED MECHANISM Filed Sept. 11 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. s. EPSTEIN Get. 9, I956 FEED MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 11 1950 INVENTOR 2,766,042 FEED NIECHANISM Herbert S. Epstein, Seattle, Wash., assignor of thirtythree and one-third percent to Arthur 0. Epstein and thirty-three and one-third percent to Moe Dinner, Seattle, Wash.

Application September 11, 1950, Serial No.

2 Claims. (Cl. 271-) normally elevated oil the tip of the lowermost envelope made subject latters influence, it is of the second envelope to the found that this forward creeping case fouling the machine.

The present invention has advantages appear and be understood in the 2,766,042 I Patented Oct. 9, 1956 course of the following description and claims, the invention consists in In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a feed mechanism embodying the teachings of the present invention, and incorporating a broken-line showing of an addressing machine with which the same is used.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section thereof on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are transverse vertical sectional views on line 3-3, 4 4, and 55, respectively, of Fig. 1-.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view drawn to an enlarged scale on line 66 of Fig. 2; and

fed envelopes at the addressing station.

Referring to said drawings the numerals l0 and 11 designate side plates laid on edge and extending in transversely spaced parallel relation to serve as the longitudinal principals of a suitable framework, each said upper edge an out-turned flange of the frameacross the bottom by angleand are joined across the top by rods, as 15 and 16, which rest upon and are secured to the flanges. As with the framework of the feed mechanism illustrated and described in the above-identified Wimpee et al. patent, my side plates are cut away,

iron struts, as 13 and 14,

top wall of the machine base 12. The conventional addressing machine employs a multiplicity of embossed plates, and incorporates a carriage acting from below to move these plates successively into and from a position registering with the opening. An ink-impregnated ribbon traverses the opening in overlying relation to the registered plates, and the operation of addressing enother pair are respective angle-iron stringers designated by and 31. Complementing angle-iron members are welded or otherwise fixed in back-to-back relation along the inner sides of these stringers to produce that which in effect is a double-L iron, and the inturned horizontal web-sections 32 and 33 of these double-l. stringers oper ate as substantial tracks sustaining the side edges of the envelopes as the latter are fed into printing positions below the platen. As will be seen from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 2, the tracks do not extend the full length of the framework, having an overall span only slightly longer than the cut-away 17 which accommodates the addressing machine, and at each end of the tracks there is provided a respective primary roller, as 34 and 35,

journaled from the frame to rotate about a transverse horizontal axis and each located to have a tangent of its upper surface approximately coincide with the upper level of the track. Complementary to each of the primary rollers and located inwardly thereof but spaced below the tracks is a respective secondary roller, as '36 and 37, and this set of four rollers serves to carry an endless feed belt 38 composed by preference of thin fabric tape. There is a single such belt and the upper run thereof bears upon the track 32 with its two ends passing first about the primary rollers and thence up and over the secondary rollers to establish tensioning bends along the length of the lower run. Such belt takes a frictional purchase from the rollers but may be shifted endwise thereto in compensation of lateral adjustments given to the track 32. The roller 34 is a live roller driven by j a belt 40 from an electric motor 41, the other rollers being in each instance free-running rollers driven only from the friction of the belt.

Removed beyond the live roller 34 toward the head end of the framework and placed central to the width thereof with its upper level flush or approximately flush with the upper level of the live roller, there is provided a rubber-surfaced drive wheel 42 fixedly mounted upon a cross-shaft 43 journaled for normal free rotation in bearing cups 44 and 45 carried by the framing plates 10 and 11. The shaft is held against endwise movement and upon an end portion thereof there is freely journaled a pulley wheel 46 constantly driven by a belt 47 off a pulley 48 fixed to the shaft which carries the live feed roller 34. Designated by 50 is a shipping spool serving with the pulley wheel as the functioning complements of a iaw-clutch, and this spool is connected for unitary rotary movement with the cross-shaft 43 by a pin 49 working in a slot of the shaft. A compression spring 51 acts to yieldingly influence this spool into clutching engagement with the pulley wheel. 52 denotes a declutching lever fulcrumed to the frame at 53 and presenting upon one end thereof a shipping fork 54 for the spool with the other end being pivotally attached, as at 55, to a link 56 which connects in turn with the core 57 of a solenoid unit 53, this solenoid being contained in an electric circuit which includes a circuit-closing switch (not shown) housed in a switch box 60. For operating this switch there are provided two lever-shoes 61 and 62 joined for parallel motion by a bar 63 and so mounted as to have the free ends occupy positions in the path travelled by the envelopes E as they are successively fed from a magazine 64 into printing position upon the addressing machine, the advancing envelope working counter to the force of a spring 65 to lift the lever-shoes and by such lifting acting to turn the fulcrum pin 66 and responsively close the housed switch, whereupon the solenoid is energized to disengage the clutch. The switch which I employ is desirably a mercury switch.

The said magazine occupies a position at the extreme head end of the feed mechanism and presents a sloping door 67 upon which the rear-end portion of a stack of envelopes is sustained. The front side edges of this sustained stack rests upon inturned bottom flanges 68 of cheek guides 70 lying at each side of the drive wheel and positions the stack such that the lowermost envelope in the stack protrudes its leading edge between the rubber surface of said wheel and a closely overlying body 71 of sponge rubber or the like. A freely hung weight 72 presenting a bevelled underside acts to place the envelopes in the suggestion of an echelon arrangement causing the envelopes to nose into the interstice between the drive wheel and the sponge body as they successively occupy a lowermost position in the stack. Said sponge body is carried by a clip 73 mounted for vertical slide movement in a channeled guide 74 taking its support from a kicked-up bridging piece 75, and is adjusted for desired clearance by a knurled screw 76. Also supported by this bridging piece in a manner causing the same to yieldingly bear upon the live feed roller 34 is a freely journaled pressure disc 77. A counterpart of this pressure disc, .and which I designate by 78, is provided at the tail end of the machine in overlying relation to the idler roller 35.

From the foregoing it will be seen that deenergizing of the solenoid permits the spring 51 to exert its restrained load and couple the pulley Wheel to the drive wheel 42, and that the drive wheel then projects the lowermost envelope in the stack forwardly between the live feed roller and its overlying pressure disc. It is a characteristic of the machine that the feed roller 34 has a surface travel considerably faster than that of the drive wheel, which serves to snake the lowermost envelope quite rapidly off the bottom of the stack and preclude. any possibility of the envelope bending as its leading end reaches the feed roller. Progressing beyond the feed roller the leading end of the advancing envelope engages and lifts the lever-shoe 61 which closes the solenoid circuit and responsively uncouples the shipping spool from the driven pulley wheel 46, thus inactivating the drive wheel momentarily in advance of the point at which the trailing said wheel. The feed roller and the tape belt are, however, constantly driven and the envelope continues to advance.

For the purpose of momentarily interrupting the advancing envelope to localize the same for printing, I provide a stop finger and co-ordinate the same with the movements of the addressing machine such that said finger, normally occupying an interruptive position in the travel path of the envelope, moves out of and again into said position as the platen-carrying beam 23 rises after each addressing operation. To this end the finger is supported from a transverse arm 81 carried for both rotary and endwise adjustment upon a rocker shaft 82 journaled in frame-carried bearings 83. Adjacent the front end of said rocker shaft two of said bearings are placed in closely spaced relation and serve as keepers guidably supporting a notched bar 84 which is secured by a set-screw 35 in longitudinally adjusted position upon the free end of the beam-activated pitman arm 24. Serving a tripping function, said bar rides upon a leaf spring 86 and is yieldingly pressed by the latter against the underside of a shoulder cam 87 fixedly carried upon the rocker shaft, the notch 88 of the bar and the shoulder 89 of the cam working in complement as a ratchet-andpawl connection for intermittently giving such a partial turn to the rocker shaft as will elevate the stop finger 86 out of an interruptive position in the travel path of the envelopes. This finger elevating movement is yieldingly opposed by a torsion spring 90 and is of momentary duration in that the notch clears the shoulder and allows the spring 90 to assert itself upon the rocker shaft before the pitman arm completes its retractive stroke. As the finger rises out of its envelope-interrupting position, the continuously moving tape-belt again takes a frictional purchase upon the envelope and advances the same beyond the finger whereat the envelope becomes positively gripped end of the advancing envelope clears i between the roller 35 and its pressure disc 78, by which mally depressed shoe means arranged to be raised by it is projected from the tail end of the machine. The the sheet before the sheet has cleared the feed wheel stop-finger has upon its lower end a round-headed footand retained in an elevated condition by tracking upon piece 91 yieldable upwardly against the pressure of a the sheet as the latter traverses the shoe while advancing light spring 92 (Fig. 7), and the purpose thereof is to with the belt, clutch-operating means controlled by said allow the stop finger to ride with almost negligible presshoe means for disengaging said clutch when the shoe sure along the upper surface of the moving envelope as means is elevated by the advancing sheet and for engagthe stop-finger drops upon the envelope followm its ing said clutch when sald shoe means is depressed momentary n'se. As t e envelope moves beyond its finger normally occupying a position Interrupting the printing position, tne trailing end clears the second of the 10 travel of the sheet with the belt before the sheet has two lever-shoes, and namely the shoe 62 whereupon the cleared said shoe means for moving said stop finger out two shoes are urged downwardly by force of the spring of and into said sheet-interrupting position intermit- 65 to open the swltch and break the circuit to the soletently. noid, whereupon the sprln 51 is allowed to exert its 2. In mechanism for feeding sheet stock, a conveyor, force upon the shipping spool and establish a driving means for feeding successive sheets to said conveyor, a couple through the clutch to the drive wheel The definger movable out of and into a normal depressed poscribed operation is then repeated for the then lowersition mterruptlng the progress of the sheet on said conmost envelope in the stack. vcyor, a spring yieldingly urging said finger into its nor- Along the length of the tape-belts travel between the mal depressed position, and means working counter to head and tail rollers 34 and 35, there are provided holdthe spring to elevate the finger out of its said sheetdown bars 93 and spring-influenced idler wheels 94 pressinterrupting position for such momentary interval as will ing the advancing envelope downwardly against the tape. clear the sheet and allow the front edge of the latter to Whlle I have illustrated and described herein the emprogress with the conveyor beyond the finger, the finger bodiment WhlCh I now consider to best exemplify the tracking upon the facing surface of the conveyed sheet teachings of the present invention, it is self-evident that when the asserted power of the spring acts upon the minor changes in the details of construction may be refinger after the latter is freed of the momentary lift sorted to without departing from the spirit of the invenaction of the elevating means, the finger having a foottion and it is accordingly my intention that the hereto piece yieldable upwardly under moderate pressure for annexed claims oe given a scope fully commensurate with reducing friction as the finger rides upon the advancthe broadest interpretation to which the employed laning sheet.

What I claim, is: References Cited in the file of this patent 1. In mechanism for feeding sheet stock, a magazine for holding a stacked supply of the sheets, a continuously UNITED STATES PATENTS driven endless conveyor belt trained about head and 1,478,464 Waters Dec. 25, 1923 tail rollers with the head end of the belt removed to the 1, 5,378 Labombarde Sept. 29, 1925 front of the magazine a distance less than the length of 1, 9 ,883 H lmberg Aug. 3, 1926 the sheets, pressure rolls overlying said head and tail 1,816,319 Eksergian July 28, 1931 rollers, a continuously-driven drive wheel and a normal ,919,238 McCarthy July 25, 1933 free-running and friction-surfaced feed wheel each sup- 1, 0, 2 Van Buren Mar. 13, 1934 ported for rotation about a coinciding transverse axis 2, 54, 44 Wimpce Sept. 22, 1936 located between the head roller and the magazine, a 2,082,766 Knudsen June 1, 1937 normally engaged clutch between said feed and drive ,2 ,007 Ryan Dec. 2, 1941 wheels, means acting to guidably introduce the front ,3 2,06 Ryan Nov. 17, 1942 edge of the lowermost sheet in the stack onto the fric- 45 2,343,479 Ryan et a]. Mar. 7, 1944 tion surface of the feed wheel to cause said sheet when ,34 Ellio t Mar. 14, 1944 the feed wheel is coupled by the clutch to the drive 2, 8 47 Adrian Sept. 18, 1945 wheel, to be drawn by the feed wheel from the stack and 2, 3, 2 Sacchini Ian. 3, 1950 progressively advanced to a point whereat the leading 2, 4,312 Price May 22, 1951 50 2,566,822 Cahill Sept. 4, 1951 

